Iraq's Constitution: Democratic Enough?

Published: August 26, 2005

To the Editor:

Perhaps David Brooks did not hear what Reuel Marc Gerecht said recently on ''Meet the Press.'' American democracy in 1900 didn't let women vote, he noted. If Iraqi democracy looked like that, ''we'd all be thrilled,'' he said, adding that ''women's social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy.''

I doubt that most Iraqi women would agree. Even if Iraqi women are guaranteed representation in the government, if clerics are allowed to overrule any and all decisions, is that progress?